1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the body structure of an automobile, and, in particular, a back door hinge mounting structure which can be mounted to or removed from the body of the automobile.
2. Description of the Related Art
Referring to FIGS. 6 and 7, a conventional structure for mounting a back door hinge to a vehicle body is summarized. As is commonly known, a back door is provided on the body of an automobile so that it can open and close and is secured to a body panel such as a roof panel 4 through a hinge joint using a structure such as that shown in FIG. 7. Specifically, a stud bolt 3 is secured to a fixed leaf 2a of a hinge 2A which is secured to the upper edge portion of a back door 1A. The stud bolt 3 is inserted into a mounting hole 5 formed in the roof panel 4 or the like and is secured to the hinge 2A by a securing nut 7A, which is tightened by a tool A inserted into the inner portion of a rear roof rail 4A through an access hole 6 of the rear roof rail 4A. The access hole 6 is positioned below the stud bolt 3. A support bracket 9 for mounting a hinge cap 8A formed from an elastic resin is secured to the upper surface of the fixed leaf 2 a of the hinge 2A. Therefore, the exposed outer surface portion of the hinge 2A is covered by the hinge cap 8A. This structure is shown, for example, in Japanese Utility Model Publication of Unexamined Application No. SHO-60-37461.
However, with this type of structure, when the back door 1A is mounted or removed, the threaded portion of the stud bolt 3 installed on the top of the heavy back door 1A is inclined to contact the edge of the mounting hole 5 in the roof panel 4 so that when the back door is mounted or removed, the painted surface of the edge of the mounting hole 5 is damaged, leading to the formation of rust. In addition, because the hinge cap 8A is simply inserted into the support bracket 9, it can come off easily, and there are occasions when, whether by chance or misadventure, the hinge cap 8 is lost and the external appearance of the body is marred.